Fumio Kishida resigned as Japan’s Prime Minister on Tuesday, paving the way for Shigeru Ishiba to take office, The Associated Press reports.
Kishida, who took office in 2021, stepped down amid a series of scandals that plagued his government. Ishiba, the newly chosen leader of the governing Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), will be formally elected as prime minister later today by parliament.
Ishiba announced his intention to call a snap parliamentary election on October 27, aiming to secure a public mandate for his policies. He plans to form a new cabinet that will not be tied to party factions, a departure from previous administrations.
“I believe it is important to have the new administration get the public’s judgment as soon as possible,” Ishiba said on Monday.
Opposition parties criticized Ishiba for the short timeframe between his election and the election, arguing that it leaves little room for parliamentary debate on his proposed policies.
Ishiba’s cabinet is expected to be comprised of figures unaffiliated with powerful party factions, including former Environment Minister Shinjiro Koizumi, who will head the LDP’s election task force. Defense experts Takeshi Iwaya and Gen Nakatani are expected to be named Foreign Minister and Defense Minister, respectively.
Ishiba, who was elected to parliament in 1986, has a long history of government service, having served as Defense Minister, Agriculture Minister, and LDP Secretary General under former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.
Ishiba has pledged to continue Kishida’s economic policies aimed at pulling Japan out of deflation and increasing salaries, while also addressing key challenges like the country’s declining birthrate and population, as well as strengthening resilience to natural disasters.
